Wednesday came within one game of reaching the Premier League, but ultimately were denied in the play-off final by a moment of brilliance from Mohamed Diame.

And while Sterland - who was part of the Owls side that bounced back from narrowly missing out on a top three spot two years running to secure promotion to the First Division in 1984 - has been full of praise for the current squad, he suggested that Carlos Carvalhal needs to add a handful of options during the coming weeks.

"The manager will know where he needs to strengthen and I'm sure the chairman will put more money into the football club this summer," he told the Star. "Carlos has been in football a long, long time.

"He has a good bunch of lads and got the team playing some good football. We just need a bit more quality in certain positions.

"Carlos only needs to add four more players to the squad and we will be looking very strong again."

Considering that Carvalhal arrived at Hillsborough last summer with no previous experience of English football under his belt, it could be argued that Wednesday hugely overachieved this past year to put themselves so prominently in the promotion picture.

But with a full year under his belt to instil his philosophy, and with many of the loan signings joining on a permanent basis, they will certainly fancy their chances of being one of the pace-setters next season rather than the side that emerged out of the mid-table pack as the campaign wore on.

And if they are able to add the kind of quartet that Sterland believes will benefit the squad, it is fair to say that they will surely be one of the favourites to book themselves a place in the top flight.